Endangered Perfection
by aradian nights
Summary: Rhyme hurts herself while riding Beat's bike, when Joshua unexpectedly appears, in all mysteriousness, beckoning her to WildKat, with ominous force and intentions. But the truth behind his kindness shocks, and thoroughly scares Rhyme. For Saro. Yaaaaaay.


_... Umm... yeah. FOR SAAAAAAAAROOOOOOOOOO Because I love you. :D_

* * *

Rhyme stared at her skinned knees with a wide-eyed gaze. Breaks, she thought. Broken breaks. She pulled her leg up, examining the mess closer. She repressed a gag, noticing some pebbles mixed in with the blood. Rhyme squinted, leaning in even closer. Tiny, slim shards of glass also resided in her wounds.

"Breaks," she reminded herself, staring blankly at the still-spinning wheels of Beat's bike. "Breaks."

She looked at her palms, wincing at the sight of peeled over skin, clinging to the rest of her in slim fibers. She shook her head, hoping Beat wouldn't notice when she came home.

She stopped, realizing the little paper gift bag she had been holding before crashing, resided next to her. It's contents, though still wrapped in its original tissue paper, was a few feet away from the bag. Rhyme felt a rush of anxiety, realizing that the glass would've never sustained such a fall without breaking. She crawled carefully over to the tissue paper, eyes wide, hoping- begging- it was alright.

But of course, Rhyme knew before she even uncovered the figurine, that it was clearly dismembered. The angel's once smiling face had a large, jagged crack going up it diagonally. It's head looked as if it had been sliced through the neck with great precision, and it's wings were crushed. Not to mention the torso was in several sharp pieces.

Rhyme felt deflated. "No, no…" She shook her head, wincing as some of the glass pierced her finger. It stung lamely, shadowed against the pain of her palms and knees. Her eyes began to water a bit, and she bit her tongue, hissing slightly. She knew it was childish to cry about a few scrapes and bruises, but her legs were _throbbing_. When she tried to pull her self up, her bloody knees buckled, and collapsed beneath her. She pressed the angel fragments against her chest to save them from the fall. Though, some of the sharper pieces went through the fabric of her shirt, creating a thin scratch just above her chest. A little right from her heart.

Her eyes widened slightly, and she pulled the little glass back, staring at the deadly shards with shock. It's once achromatic texture was dotted with red here and there. She sighed, feeling a few tears seep through her eyelashes. She hated crying. Just the feeling- her throat closing up, and the nausea. It was such an awful sensation.

"Well, well, well," drawled a numbingly familiar voice. "This is a surprise."

Rhyme couldn't turn around, due to the throbbing in both her legs. So she tilted her head back as far as it could go. She gasped softly, her eyes widening. "Oh!" She quickly pulled her head up, and straightened her beanie. The boy giggled a bit, walking around her so he could face her.

"Well, not wholly a surprise." He gave her a tiny wink.

Rhyme recognized him immediately, of course. He had brought her back to life- how could she not remember him? And Rhyme was exceedingly grateful to him for this. But she had never thought she'd actually see him too often. She'd only seen him once before this, and it was when he had come up to Neku unexpectedly during a Hachiko visit. She spoke a single word, and it wasn't even well composed. "Hi," she'd said, with a shy smile. Just 'hi'. Rhyme flushed, feeling dumber and dumber.

She glanced up at him, highly embarrassed she had to meet him like this. And plus, she was a little wary, now processing his last sentence. She knew being around Joshua was dangerous. Beat had even gone so far as to warn her to stay away from him. She knew exactly why, though Beat hadn't told her when she asked. He'd killed Neku. Rhyme knew it wasn't a good idea to become friends with killers. It was dead on common sense. But Rhyme was so curious about Joshua's sentence. A little too curious, maybe.

"W-what do you mean, Joshua?" Rhyme asked slowly. She folded up the tissue paper carefully, making sure all the pieces were intact. She could always glue them back together.

Joshua was staring at her, with a kind of burning interest. Like a fire had been set in his amethyst eyes, and it would not be doused. The gaze just _burned _with intensity. Rhyme realized she was gaping, and quickly shut her mouth. Why was he staring at her like _that_? He wasn't glaring. Rhyme was sure she'd probably die of fright before he glared at her. But his gaze was fixated on her face, completely unblinking, subtle expression- but why was he looking at her like that?

It was giving her a terribly uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Like nausea mixed with excitement. The kind of feeling that made her want to scream. Rhyme really wanted to scream. Or look away. Or move.

But she found she couldn't do any of those. So she sat, and gaped once more, staring into his wild fire eyes, hoping to God she didn't throw up.

But his gaze was completely shot, wiped from his face in such a fast transition, Rhyme wasn't sure what was happening. He was making her dizzy.

He was giggling again. "It seems you've had an accident, Rhyme." He stood up suddenly, catching her off guard. She hadn't realized he had even been sitting. He nudged Beat's bike with his toe, as if it were something horrible, and grotesque. "What possessed you to ride a bike in Shibuya?" He asked without facing her.

Rhyme wanted nothing more then to go home and clean out her cuts. Her legs were shaking as well now. Skinned knees shouldn't do that. She took a deep breath, hoping to soothe the pain. She felt like she was younger, learning to ride her bike without training wheels in the park. Always falling, skinning her knees, crying.

Rhyme reached for her beaten up bag, carefully placing the bundled fragments inside it. She frowned, shaking her head. "It's nice to ride a bike. It's not my fault I live in an overpopulated city." She needed to get home so she could fix this angel.

"I suppose it's not, no." He mused, smirking down at her.

Rhyme paused. She needed to get up. And she knew this was a near impossible task. She had a few options. Ask Joshua to help her, which she automatically opted out, or try and get up and walk herself and Beat's bike home. She would barely make a few steps, the way her legs were shaking. It was probably the glass, she reasoned.

She even made a slight- almost unrecognizable move to stand, but quickly gave up before she fell. It didn't go unnoticed. Joshua's eyes saw everything.

"Ah!" Rhyme winced, hearing how cynical his voice sounded. "I see- you can't move."

This was what Rhyme was trying to avoid. What would he do? Mock her? Rhyme's cheeks heated, already embarrassed. "I- I'm fine, Joshua." She knew there was no hope in trying to lie. He'd be able to see through it. Unless she suddenly became a fascinatingly fantastic liar over night.

He giggled once again, the shrill sound ringing in Rhyme's ears, even after it stopped. "Raimu, dear, please. You couldn't lie if your soul depended on it."

Rhyme shook her head, placing a hand on one shaking leg. "I guess lying is just a quality I never quite developed too well."

"I guess," he was looking highly amused, standing over her, hiding the sun from view. She was bathed the shadow of his thin form.

Rhyme's eyes were tearing again. Maybe she could call Beat. But before she could even reach her cell phone, she was being lifted from her near-paralyzed state, and hoisted up at the waist by one thin, pale arm.

She was gaping again. Never had she given the slightest thought that he'd actually _help_ her.

"Text Beat and tell him where to find his bike." Rhyme flinched. It sounded more like an order than anything else.

"I can't leave it h-here." She said, wobbling slightly. "Someone might steal it."

Joshua rolled his eyes a bit, but still retained his taunting smirk. "The breaks are broken. Either way it's useless."

Rhyme scowled slightly, the unfamiliar expression tingling her lips. He was getting to be almost infuriating. But she froze, rewinding his previous sentences. "Joshua, I never told you-"

"I know, dear, I scanned you before I approached you." He giggled at her horrified expression.

"_Why _on _Earth _would you scan _me_, Joshua? Because you happened to have spoken to me once?" Rhyme shook her head, the nausea-excitement feeling stirring in her stomach. "What are you doing here, Joshua?"

He was staring at her again. Not in the same way as last time, but in an amused, all-knowing type of way. "I need a reason to be here, helping someone I happen to know? Now, honestly, does that seem fair?"

As Rhyme spoke, she heard her voice crack. "S-shush!" She closed her eyes, shaking her head. She wanted go _home_. "You wouldn't do something if it didn't benefit you, Joshua." She murmured softly, though it didn't cover up the bitterness of her words. She resented him. She was afraid of him. These feelings were overpowering how grateful she was toward him. She wanted to run, or maybe just sit back down and wait for Beat to come find her.

He didn't mind how harsh her words were. He just laughed sharply, shaking his head. "Ah, dear little Rhyme- why are you using my name so often? I'm just…" He paused, leaning toward her ear, purring, "ever so curious…"

Rhyme jumped, his nose tickling her cheek. What was he doing? Why'd he get so close all of a sudden? She could feel the blood rushing to her face. Her stomach, with all it churning nausea-excitement, flipped, realizing it was a boy who was holding her up, tickling her ear. A boy that wasn't her brother. She'd never been this close to a boy that she wasn't related to. It made her blush, in a nervous, and awfully embarrassing way.

"E-eh…" She wrapped her bloody palms around the arm encircling her waist, leaning back nervously.

He sighed, a satisfied smirk naturally forming on his lips. "My, my, Rhyme," he cooed with raised eyebrows, "It's as if you've never met a boy before-" He giggled suddenly. "Or maybe you just really are as innocent as you seem."

Rhyme shook her head, glancing at Beat's bike. "U-um… I'm sorry? I-I…" She wobbled slightly. "I don't understand what you're-"

He hushed her, reaching into her pocket, carefully pulling out her cell phone. "H-hey!" Rhyme cried, reaching for it. But he had let go of her waist, and she quickly toppled back to the ground. She winced, the concrete colliding with her knees. Joshua didn't seem to notice, because he just flicked open her phone, his fingers running over the numbers with a skilled amount of speed.

She sighed, folding her arms across her chest. She looked down, noticing her shirt was bloody too. She stared at the dark blotches of blood on the fabric with loathing. This was turning out to be a horrible day.

"Joshua," She called, hoping she'd tear his attention from her phone.

He grunted in reply, his eyes momentarily leaving the phone to glance at her. They flickered back to the numbers immediately.

"Joshua, can you take me home?" She asked slowly, staring at Beat's breakless bike wearily.

He paused, taking his time to give her a smirk. He shut the phone, handing it to her calmly. "I told him to pick up his bike at Miyashita Park."

Rhyme stared at him, trying to hide her confusion. "Oh… alright." Well, it wasn't as if she could take it with her anyway. She just hoped no one would steal it. "Um… how is it going to get there?"

Joshua laughed, shaking his head. "It's on the way."

Rhyme froze. No, she thought, panic adding to the mixture of nausea in her stomach. He can't be serious. "On the way?" She repeated slowly.

"Yes," he pulled her up, slinging an arm around her waist. Rhyme looked down at her knees, noticing there was blood dribbling down her legs.

"Please tell me you mean on the way to my house…" Rhyme gripped his arm as he let go of her to pick up Beat's bike.

He balanced the bike with one hand, slinging his arm around Rhyme again. "I would, but then I'd be lying. And probably kidnapping too."

Rhyme winced at the thought. "Then… but… I'm sorry, but where are we going then?"

He giggled walking forward. Rhyme struggled to keep in time with his foot steps. "Oh, but Rhyme! I thought you were smart!"

Rhyme flushed, her eyes widening in shock. He was teasing, she realized. He had to be. "I-I…"

He made a short _tsk_ing noise, pulling her and the bike along. "Rhyme, where could I possibly want to go that's by Miyashita Park?"

She paused, staring at Joshua's feat, stepping carefully (and painfully) in time with his. "Cat Street?" She murmured, gazing at her bloody legs in concentration.

"Very good." He laughed, ruffling her hair playfully. Or attempting to, as to the beanie that was covering most of the lackluster-yellow strands.

Rhyme was finding it harder and harder to breathe with him around. She wasn't sure if it was because he absolutely terrified her, or if it was because he was so incredibly fascinating. Or maybe it was because she couldn't recall the last time she'd lost so much blood- not counting her untimely death, in which she was positive she had looked quite like a freshly mauled corpse, considering she really had been one. Excluding being mauled, of course. Her grip on Joshua's arm tightened noticeably as they entered the Miyashita Park Underpass.

Joshua had the audacity to _laugh _at her reaction. Rhyme flinched, releasing his arm completely. "Please don't laugh." She sighed, brushing her hand against her scrape. She felt like a baby. Only a child needed help after scraping their knees. This was ridiculous. She felt her fingers come in contact with the dark, and some-what gooey substance emitting from her knees. She made a slight gagging noise.

Joshua patted her head slightly. "Don't worry, dear. There's a very little chance you'll get hit while you're with me."

Rhyme couldn't help but thinking, with a slight bite of harshness, _But am I safe from you?_

Now, Rhyme knew she shouldn't be so bitter toward Joshua. She knew that she wouldn't be alive if it weren't for him. But she knew that it would be foolish to believe that Joshua was helping her out of the goodness of his heart- and this made her heart ache at the thought that she was looking down on someone without much explanation. But she knew Joshua was doing this for a reason. And she was positive the reason benefited him.

Rhyme wanted to believe that Joshua was a good person.

But she knew she would just be kidding herself. Joshua was using her to his advantage somehow- now if he could figure out how…

But maybe, she thought looking up at his face, which was either blissfully unaware of her gaze, or just enjoying it. If I could just see what was going on inside his head- he can't be all bad, can he? There's good in everybody. Even the Composer. Why else would he have had mercy on her in the Game?

"Alright!"

Rhyme jumped, tearing her gaze from his face. He glanced at her, a large smirk plastered on his lips. "You weren't staring at me, were you, Rhyme?" He asked, giggling.

Rhyme felt a sort of jolt in her stomach. Like an electric current of some kind. It ran up her spine, making her shiver slightly. _Don't look at me like that, _She thought, closing her eyes.

"I've never seen somebody with your color eyes." She found herself saying these words without any recognition. She inhaled, looking up at him. It was the truth. His eyes were breathtaking. She wondered if they were natural, or if they turned that color after he became Composer.

He was still smirking. "Oh?" He asked, blindly leaning Beat's bike against a railing. "Would you like to take a closer look?" His arm tightened around her waist, and he faced her, leaning forward a bit so Rhyme could see the details of his violet eyes. She leaned back, shocked by his actions.

"N-no, thank you!" She gasped, feeling a blush creep onto her face.

Rhyme watched his dark amethyst eyes squint at her, with a kind of malice that reminded her of an expression she'd seen in a horror movie. It was the expression of a predator that had just caught it's prey. It was like he was suppressing his glee for potentially scaring her.

He leaned back, playing with his hair with his free hand. "Your brother will find it easily, I think?" He said, looking at the bike, acting as if he hadn't just tried to scare her.

"Someone could steal it, though." Rhyme murmured, shaking her head.

"Eh, probably not." He smirked slightly, pulling out his phone.

"How do you know that?" Rhyme asked, tilting her head upward. She could've sworn she felt a rain drop on her arm.

Joshua's fingers danced across his phone, swiftly punching numbers as if he were a master of an ancient phone mafia-gang-type-texting-art… thing. Rhyme gaped, a little surprised by his speed. "Dear, dear, Raimu," Joshua sighed, shutting his phone, "it seems you've underestimated me."

Rhyme blinked, her gape widening a bit. She glanced toward the bike warily. It had disappeared. Rhyme inhaled a sharp gasp, shrinking back into Joshua's arm.

"Shall we continue?" Joshua simpered, pushing the child forward forcefully.

"Beat's bike…" Rhyme breathed, realizing what he'd done. "Joshua… you… oh. I see. You… y-you put it in UG, right?"

Joshua beamed at her. "Very, very good, Rhyme! I knew you were smart."

Rhyme bit her tongue to keep herself from using anything from Beat's language. It seemed Joshua was bringing out the worst in her. She forced a laugh, rubbing the back of her neck. She felt the dry blood graze over her skin first. Then the very much wet blood swipe across her neck. She grimaced for a moment, before retaining her smile. "I don't think I'm that smart. People just like to compare me to Beat. It's so unfair, really. They expect so much from him because he's my brother. But I'm not even that smart. Beat's smart too, you know…" Rhyme closed her eyes, letting Joshua lead her forward. Their foot steps kept her calm. "He just doesn't try. I do. So in the end, we get compared, and Beat seems far dimmer than he really is, and I seem like this overly intelligent child protégé." Rhyme laughed, shaking her head.

Joshua's expression remained unchanged as they walked.

"I know you don't care," Rhyme continued, feeling lighter, "but I like talking to you. Because you don't care, I don't have to worry about your opinion."

This made Joshua smile. "You're far different than I imagined, Rhyme."

"And I hope I diminished your expectations." She muttered, gazing at the sky. Dark clouds tumbled across her view. Rain was coming.

"Why would you say that?"

"Because your doing something," she whispered briskly. "And I don't want to be part of your scheme, Joshua. Don't drag me into something that I'm going to regret. Don't experiment your theories on me. Don't use me to get to anyone. If those are your reasons for being nice to me, drop me off at WildKat. I'll have Beat pick me up there." Your being mean, the more inner Rhyme stated sadly. This was the Rhyme she was on a regular day. But Joshua really _did_ bring out the worst in her.

But Joshua's eyes were shining with a sickening fascination. "I scare you." He observed, laughing. Rhyme felt her stomach drop. _Oh god, _Rhyme thought with a perplexed gaze. _He's laughing like a madman._

"I never said that." Rhyme said slowly.

Joshua shook his head leading her along Cat Street. "But it's so true. You seem to understand me. And that's fascinating. But I'll tell you something, Raimu Bito." His face suddenly became expressionless. "You cannot read me. You don't know what my intentions are."

Rhyme felt a rush of anger rise in her and she glowered at him. "Joshua, I want to go home. I don't care what your intentions are. I don't want to know." She gritted her teeth, feeling annoyed. Her inner Rhyme whimpered, telling her not to do anything rash. Rhyme wanted to be herself again. This… this was infuriating.

"I'll decide when I take you home," Joshua grinned at her maliciously.

Rhyme felt her inner core snap. "What?" She hissed. "No. No, no. Joshua, please-" She almost flinched. You don't use please when you're mad! Yell at him! "No! I want to go home! Why do you make me so… so…" Rhyme gasped, letting go of her bag, clutching her head. She exhaled, closing her eyes. She needed to calm down before someone submitted her to a mental facility for being bi-polar. "What are you doing to me?" She whispered, gazing at her knees.

"I didn't think I'd have this affect, honestly." He tilted his head, looking at her calmly. "It seemed I've driven you to the edge of your sanity- almost." He laughed, ruffling her hair again. "Oh, but that was a show! Really, I'm impressed. I was hoping for something else, but anger's good."

Rhyme looked up sharply, gazing at him in horror. "What?"

"Anger." He repeated with the same sense of calm. "Wrath. Whatever. It's a sin. Deadly one, really…" His eyes glowed dangerously behind his bangs.

"Wrath…?" She felt stupid. So, so stupid. It was a trap- Deadly Sin. Wrath. Why?

"Because you were so _perfect_." Joshua hissed, his walking ceasing. "It was maddening. No one is perfect. No human could possibly be perfect! I was distraught. I couldn't have it." He was staring at her again. In that wild fire way. Grinning insanely. "So I made you crack."

Rhyme felt alienated. She didn't understand. She gaped at him. "Crack?" She croaked.

He nodded, still looking like he just killed something that had gold inside it. "Wrath. I should've known with your brother- I was aiming for Lust." _That_ statement made her feel sick.

"You're insane!" Rhyme gasped, shoving him away.

"But you're interested." He drawled, closing his eyes. "Oh, this is just terrific! So much better than I imagined."

It was raining now. Some people dispersed, but most pulled out umbrellas and kept walking. Rhyme tumbled to the ground, her knees weak. Or maybe it was because of her shock.

"You thought I was perfect?" She whispered, her breathing uneven. "Oh, god, you're so insane, Joshua."

"And you're fascinating. Much better than perfect." He looked like he wanted to eat her. Literally, he was grinning at her with a hungry gaze.

She was crying a little. "Oh my God… why…"

"I'm sorry," He sighed, looking away. "I guess I showed you a little too much mercy. This makes it even. I'm sorry for cutting your breaks."

Rhyme wasn't surprised. She felt a slight sob escape her lips. "Why one of the Seven Deadly Sins? It doesn't make any sense."

Joshua smiled, picking her up. She gasped, and flailed against him. "Let go! I get it, okay? I'm not perfect! I have flaws! I get angry! I'm a person! _Let me go now, Joshua_!" She shrieked.

"I think I like you too much," he deadpanned.

She stared at him, scowling at him. She needed to act like Beat. That wouldn't be hard in her state. She just need to act on impulse. So she bit his arm. His eyes widened a bit, and he let go of her. She managed to land on her side. She stood shakily, tripping her way toward WildKat.

He grabbed her, pulling her back. "You're going to hurt yourself."

"What is wrong with you?" She gasped pushing him. "Okay! You scare me! I'm afraid! I wanna go home! You got what you wanted. You cracked me."

"More like broke."

It was a new voice. Cool, collected, and familiar.

"Sanae." Joshua observed. Rhyme sniffled a bit, the adrenaline in her veins cooling. Her heart was pounding wildly.

"I told you to take it easy on her." Mr. H said, sighing.

"I didn't mean to make her cry." Joshua said, shrugging.

Mr. H shook his head, taking Rhyme's arm. "Come on, Little Skulls. Josh won't hurt you again. He was just testing something."

She coughed slightly. "Knew it."

Mr. H grimaced. "You did her in, Josh. Never seen her so pissy."

"I didn't mean to make her angry. Or sad. That wasn't my objective."

"Well, it was your result." Mr. H shook his head, pulling the child toward the WildKat. "Beg for Skulls's mercy, Josh. He's gonna tear your face of."

"Positively."

Mr. H sighed, patting Rhyme's head. "Come on. I'll make you hot chocolate until your brother gets here."

She could only nod. The shock had caught up with her.

Why had he thought she was perfect? Why did he act the way he did? What was his goal?

She knew one thing- Beat was to never know about it. She made Mr. H swear he wouldn't let it slip either.

Yoshiya Kiryu was insane.

But she had one thing right.

She found him excruciatingly fascinating.

* * *

_That... wasn't what I was going for. I wanted a kinda pervy Joshua, and it just turned into a kinda anit-Joshyme. XD Sorry, Saro. Oh, and Rhyme! I made her so freaking OOC! It's probably because I wanted to see another side of Rhyme- this is what I got. Okay, ta!_


End file.
